In Search of Mom's Any Where in Palm Beach County

Our daughter used to wake up around this age with "nightmares" or something like them. I didn't know what to do and the pediatrician said to distinguish if it's a pain cry or just a regular cry. As long as you know she is okay (not stuck in the crib rails or anything- we've had that happen with our daughter's legs a few times)- you really have to try your best to let her just fall back asleep. It's very important that she learn to soothe herself. Plus, really what you are teaching her is that every time she wakes up even slightly and cries a little, you will come and hold her for a little bit. Of course she wants her mama to come hold her so she has basically learned "hey if I want mom in the middle of the night to come hold me, all I have to do is cry a little." You have to kind of "unlearn" that behavior with her. I know it's hard, I've been there, but it gets easy because after she has realized it won't work anymore, she will be fine. It might take a few nights- or even more, but stay strong. You can do it!

My son has also started having nightmares. I asked my doctor about this and she said that a baby can wake up as many as 100 times a night and that this is how they learn to put themselves back to sleep. I guess if you are going in and helping her go back to sleep then she is not learning how to do it herself. As the other response says, she needs to learn how to soothe herself. It's tough, but maybe just think of it as going in there is hurting her more than helping her. Good luck!

The teething tablets (Hylands is one brand) are a great suggestion by a previous post if you think it's teething. They are quickly dissolved in the mouth or you drop a few in a bedtime bottle. They work quickly and let the little one and you get much needed sleep.
Around the same age, my daughter would wake up several times during the night. (She was no longer feeding at night.) Unfortunately, it was learned behavior because we had traveled a lot, I always rushed to comfort her in order to keep everyone else sleeping. When we got home after our travels, we did do some crying it out to train her to self soothe and sleep through the night. It was very hard for the first few days, but after about 4 days, she started putting herself back to sleep... and then sleeping through the night.
Using the cry it out method isn't for everyone, do what feels best... I just know that a full night of sleep after 9 months without was the answer for me.
Good luck.
T.
Mom to Katelyn, almost 18 months

I've never experienced the same thing, but I was trying to think of what could be bothering her. I was wondering if she start teething yet? That could be the reason she might not be comfortable enough to fall asleep. At Walgreens they have these all natural teething tablets and it helps the babies to fall asleep. I agree it's not ok to let your daughter keep crying, but she should start being able to self soothe herself. If she's not hungry or have a wet diaper then there's no reason to pick her up out of her crib. If she wakes up and starts to cry you should wait a couple of minutes and then go in and let her know your still there, but don't pick her up. The first few nights might be difficult but she will start to self soothe and then sleep through the night. I hope this works for you. Both my kids were sleeping threw the night at 2 months. The only time they woke up in the middle of the night was when they started to teethe. Babies are a lot smarter then we realize. Your daughter has learned to use you as her safety blanket to fall asleep, which is fine if that's what you feel most comfortable with doing. But because she's older it will take a few nights to break her of whats the norm for her.